Thomas Dewsberry went to sea as a cabin boy at the age of eleven and eventually became captain of his ship. He lived in a large three storey house in Parliament Street in what was later known as Toxteth Park, Liverpool, where attic rooms were used to store tax-free provisions, a privilege of being a sea captain. His wife Margaret was Irish and said to have red hair and a fiery temperament - quite the opposite of himself. His death in July 1826 left the family penniless. He drowned with one of his crew off the coast of Demerara when a boat in which they were travelling collided with a mooring rope and overturned. His body was never recovered.